DEN05FA034

History of flight

On December 10, 2004, approximately 1940 mountain standard time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 twin-engine turbo-prop airplane, N538EA, operated as American Check 900 (ACT 900), was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering near Centennial Airport (APA), Englewood, Colorado. The airplane was registered to and operated by Flight Line, Inc., Watkins, Colorado. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The unscheduled domestic cargo flight was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 135 under an instrument flight rules flight plan. The airline transport pilot and pilot-rated passenger sustained fatal injuries. The flight departed APA at 1936, and was en route to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Centennial Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) transcripts and Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar data, at 1929:27, the local controller cleared ACT 900 to taxi to runway 35R, and the pilot acknowledged the instruction. At 1933:09, the pilot informed the local controller they were ready for takeoff at the end of the runway. At 1935:05, the controller instructed ACT 900 to "full length runway three five right position and hold..." At 1936:04, the controller cleared ACT 900 for takeoff on runway 35R, and the pilot acknowledged the takeoff clearance. At 1936:56, the controller instructed ACT 900 to turn left to a heading of 280 degrees, and the pilot acknowledged the instruction.

At 1937:02, the airplane was approximately 500 feet agl, and the local controller instructed the pilot to contact Denver departure control; the pilot acknowledged the request. At 1937:36, the airplane was approximately 900 feet agl, and the pilot stated, "...we need to uh go around back in the pattern and come back in on uh either three five right or left please." At 1937:42, the controller stated, "...make a right turn make well you already your left turn keep keep un left turn and uh make left traffic for runway three five right." At 1937:53, the controller asked, "uh mitsubishi nine hundred uh are you do you require any assistance?" The pilot responded, "negative for right now uh just need to get in as soon as possible." At 1938:03, the controller stated, "o k say nature of the problem." At 1938:11, the pilot stated, "stand by one minute."

At 1938:31, the airplane was approximately 500 feet agl, and the pilot reported, "tower americheck nine hundred declaring emergency we've got an air an engine ta shut down uh please roll the equipment." At 1938:49, the controller cleared ACT 900 to land on runway 35R and stated the rescue/fire equipment was responding. At 1939:19, the controller requested from ACT 900 the souls on-board and fuel remaining. The airplane was approximately 400 feet agl, and the pilot responded, "two souls on board uh nineteen hundred pounds of fuel." At 1939:47, the controller stated, "americheck nine hundred you you can go ta two eight if you can do it." There was no response from ACT 900. At 1940:00, a transmission from an unknown source stated, "wind check". No further communications were received from ACT 900.

According to the controller-in-charge statement, "I saw ACT 900 turn base, overshoot final, and finally turn north. The aircraft lights made an abrupt nose down turn and the MU2 was gone." According to the local controller statement, "I cleared [pilot] to land on [runway] 35R. He overshot the base to final turn and went down east of the [runway]."

A witness, located in an airplane at APA who was monitoring the radio communications, reported he observed the airplane make the turn to base, "however, they shot through the final approach course, headed approximately due east." He stated the airplane was approximately 500 feet agl. While the airplane was on base leg, the witness observed the airplane continue to the east in a shallow descent with the left wing slightly low until it went out of the witness's sight. The witness stated he could tell the left wing was slightly low based on looking at the red position light and the rotating beacon.

Another witness, located in a vehicle traveling south on a nearby road, stated she observed the airplane at "less that 75 feet [agl], an average height, in my opinion, had the airplane been aligned with runway 35R to land. The airplane appeared to be flying on its side, as if to make a hard left turn. It then leveled out briefly, and I could see the bottom of the fuselage. Considering the darkness, I did not see the landing gear deployed... As the airplane passed my side window, I heard an aggressive throttle and the airplane make an immediate sharp bank to the left and descended to the ground. The airplane was descending as the speed increased. The impact appeared to be just less than a 45 degree angle, nose first." Approximately 5 minutes after the crash, rescue personnel arrived on the accident scene.

Another witness, located in a vehicle traveling north on the nearby road, stated he observed the airplane flying "very low". He stated, "just before impact, [the airplane] banked left and down."

Personnel information

The pilot, age 28, who was seated in the left front seat position, held an airline transport pilot certificate, issued June 24, 2002, with an airplane multi-engine land rating, and a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, issued September 10, 1996. The pilot's most recent FAA first-class airman medical certificate was issued on September 1, 2004, and contained a limitation for corrective lenses.

The pilot's logbook was used to document the pilot's flight experience. The pilot's total flight time at the time of the accident was 2,495.8 hours, with 1,864.2 hours in multi-engine airplanes. The pilot had accumulated 363.8 total hours in the accident airplane make and model, of which all were recorded as pilot-in-command. In the 90 days preceding the accident, the pilot had accumulated 206.5 total flight hours, all of which were in the accident airplane make and model; and 70.1 total hours in the 30 days preceding the accident.

According to the "Remarks, Procedures, Maneuvers, Endorsements" section in the pilot's logbook, one engine inoperative operations and other multi-engine maneuvers were recorded as having been conducted on October 15, 1998, on an undocumented date in 1998, and on March 3 and March 7, 1999. Both entries were recorded as having been conducted in a Piper PA-34-200 airplane. On February 5, 2003, the pilot recorded in the remarks section of the logbook, "Engine Failure", which was listed as occurring on a flight in a Piper PA-31-310. No additional one engine inoperative operations were documented.

In the logbook remarks section, on April 21, 2001, "Part 135 Checkride" in a Piper PA-31-350 was documented; on June 19 - 23, 2003, "Simuflite Training Level D Simulator" was documented; on June 28, 2002, "135 Check" in a Beech BE-200 was documented; and on January 29, 2003, "Check Ride" in a Piper PA-31-350 was documented. No check ride entries were documented in the logbook for the accident aircraft make and model.

On June 30, 2004, the pilot recorded the first entry in the logbook for a flight (APA to SLC) in the accident airplane make and model. No documentation was noted in the "Remarks, Procedures, Maneuvers, Endorsements" section of the pilot's logbook for the accident airplane make and model.

The operator provided the pilot's personnel records to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC). A review of the records revealed the operator hired the pilot in January 2003. The pilot completed the operator's "initial new-hire" training in the Piper PA-31 model airplane on January 29, 2003. According to the flight training records, on the second of three training flights, the ins